Instances, federation, posts…it can be quite bewildering to the newcomer. Can’t I just leave everything on the default?

This guide will walk the bewildered Twitter refugee through best practises to get things up and going right away according to Howlitzer.

🌐 Do start on a large “mainstream” instance like mastodon.social, mastodon.art, octodon.social, and so forth. Instancing and federation can take some time getting used to, so just start at a large hub first to get comfortable with the site and its vibe—like moving to a new country and starting in a big city before deciding if moving outwards is better (or if you’d even like to stay).

<aside> 🐺 I know my audience—if you’re reading this you’re probably a furry. Lots of them are on chitter.xyz, meow.social, or yiff.life.

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🌐 Seriously, just start on a hub, and then worry about everything else later. As a newcomer, the biggest worry you probably have is “choosing” an instance, so just like, don’t worry about it and just choose a big one. Starting on a hub, you can get an experience as close to what you are familiar to on Twitter, and it also means you’ll have to worry less about the specific quirks and technicalities of Mastodon’s mechanisms. You’ll have an easier time, trust me.

⛔ Don’t worry too much about the instance you start with, especially if you’re new. Mastodon places a great amount of emphasis on which instance you should join, but if you’re new, don’t worry about this too much yet. Refer to the above point on starting on a big instance, which is the closest thing Mastodon has to a “default” choice. Remember that anyone can interact with anyone anywhere else on Mastodon, regardless of instance! Unless you’re blocked or something, of course.

📜 Do get familiar with an instance’s rules. Each instance runs like a Discord server, and while there’s a general overarching social more system across the Mastodon federation, some instances might have specific rules or requirements for content and use. Unless you’re on a weird, small, niche instance, consider this more a general “please read the rules” reminder that’s not specific to Mastodon.

⛔ Avoid starting on a whitelist instance. By default, a Mastodon instance is federated with all other instances and then chooses which ones to block (defederate from) if necessary. Whitelisted servers are the opposite. As a result they are strictly silo’d and far more isolated. If you are looking for a Twitter-like experience, avoid these instances unless you know what you’re doing—again, refer to the first point on starting on a large instance.